Death of Egypt MP’s son linked to Blue Whale suicide game

The harrowing suicide game known as Blue Whale has claimed its latest victim after the son of former Egyptian MP Hamdy El-Fakharany, was found dead in his family home in Egypt.

The death of 18-year-old Khalid El-Fakharany was thought to be motivated by the notorious Blue Whale game after his sister found several notes in his room with scribbled writing and whale drawings amongst other unknown symbols.

The game consists of 50 challenges over 50 days. It begins with innocuous tasks such as waking up at 4am and watching horror films and increases in extremity to culminate with the final challenge – suicide.

It is reported that the game first made an appearance in Russia in 2013 before becoming popularised on social media and has been linked to many teenage suicides across the world.

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In an emotional plea to raise awareness about the game’s insidious dangers Khalid’s sister, Yasmeen El-Fakharany, took to Facebook imploring her followers to monitor their children’s phones so that they do not fall prey to the “devilish game”.

She warned of the online game’s deadly influence adding that as a religious boy, Khalid wouldn’t have committed suicide that easily.

She wrote, “I beg you, don’t challenge yourselves and try the game. No one was as strong and as religious as Khalid, yet he challenged it, and it defeated him”.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention warns parents about the game, advocating taking precautionary measures such as regularly checking up on their child’s wellbeing and monitoring their online activity.